


Love is a Polaroid

by afewmistakesago



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, In line with canon, Post S6, pre 704
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-08
Updated: 2017-11-08
Packaged: 2019-01-30 23:30:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,972
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12663663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afewmistakesago/pseuds/afewmistakesago
Summary: The story of when Belle gave Rumplestiltskin his Polaroid camera.





	Love is a Polaroid

_ “Give your spouse a meaningful gift.” _

It was a simple enough task, one Belle had read over and over on the sheet that Archie had printed with she and Rumple’s homework assignments as they went through couples’ therapy. The due date on this one was in exactly a week, and she read it over and over again, trying to think of something that could be meaningful to the man who had everything.

Literally, every kind of trinket or gadget that he could every want to possess was in his shop. Just last weekend, they’d gone to a flea market outside of Storybrooke and he picked up even  _ more _ things with a sheepish grin. Belle had no idea what would make Rumple happy - he kept telling her how happy he was just to have her and Gideon in his life. It seemed like he had always been the gift-giver in their relationship. Her furniture, clothes, hell, even the library - they were all from him. She expressed this to Archie during a solo session with him, and the once-cricket just smiled and told her that he was confident she could find something that would please her husband. 

That only infuriated her, of course, and now she was staring at the blank library computer screen like it would suddenly turn on and magically show her the right gift. Thinking of things that were meaningful to Rumple just led her back to herself and Gideon. That was a start, she supposed, she could give him something related to their family. Snow had a cute welcome mat that said “The Charming’s” on it, but she didn’t want to give him a gift that could easily be stepped on and overlooked. More than that, she wanted to give him a thing that was more than a thing. 

She nibbled her thumbnail, trying to come up with something she could have in a week that Rumple would love. Belle knew she could give him a leaf she’d picked up from the side of the road and he’d treasure it forever, but she knew he would wow her with whatever he chose for her sentimental thing he chose. Belle wanted to be equally successful.Her phone rang suddenly, and Belle picked it up, seeing Rumple’s photo on the caller ID. “Hey,” she said. “I was just thinking about you.”

“Really?” She could hear the smile in her husband’s voice as he replied.

“Yes, I was thinking about the gift assignment from Archie.”

“Ah, yes, that’s due soon,” he said, and she could hear Gideon fussing in the background. He had closed the shop three days of the week and stayed home with Gideon on the days she was at the library. “I was just going to ask if you had any preferences on what I make for dinner?”

Rumple had taken over cooking for the two of them since their reunion.  _ “Maybe he’d like fancier kitchen supplies…” _ Belle thought absently, writing down the idea on a notepad, a list full of X’s and “no”s. 

“Belle?” he asked, and she realized she’d left him without an answer.

“Oh! Sorry. Lost in my thoughts,” she said. “What are the options?”

“We have some chicken stroganoff left from last night, or I could make spaghetti, or just whatever you have a taste for.”

Belle bit her lip. “What if we just ordered Chinese?”

She heard him chuckle. “Fine with me. I’ll order it in an hour or so.”

“I’ll pick it up on my way home,” she said. 

“Perfect. I’m going to try and get Gideon down for a nap now.”

“Good luck,” she said, holding her phone close to her cheek and wishing she was home with them instead of at the library. Their work schedules were something they had debated a lot with Archie, and she was currently working two and a half days a week. 

“Thanks. Love you,” he said, and Belle smiled. Archie had reminded them to finish their conversations that way.

“Love you, too. See you later.”

She sighed as the line clicked dead, and went to shelve some recently returned books. Her phone buzzed a moment later.  _ “Out like a light,”  _ the text read.

Belle’s heart melted as she opened up the photo of her sleeping son, complete with thumb in his mouth. The quality of photo from Rumple’s flip phone was subpar, but he always sent her photos throughout the day. Belle had upgraded to a smartphone shortly after they got Gideon back, but Rumple still hadn’t budged. “You can take better photos,” she said.

“But I can’t print them without three cords and all kinds of hoops either way,” he returned.

She mostly thought it was his own stubbornness that stopped him from upgrading. Suddenly, it hit her. She could buy Rumple a camera that would print photos right away. One of the Polaroids, like Snow and David had. It was more than a thing, because it would hold memories as well. She ran as fast as her high heels would take her back to the computer, googling ‘Polaroid’ and researching the various options. She found one that came with a few packs of film, ordering it express so that it would arrive in time for their gift-exchange date.

 

\---

 

A week later with Gideon left in Granny’s trusted hands for the evening, Rumple and Belle set out of Storybrooke. Rumple had made a reservation at an upscale restaurant that neither of them had been to before, and Belle was holding his hand as they walked into the restaurant. Her other hand was carrying the bag with his gift in it, and she had noticed he didn’t have a bag with him. 

“Good evening,” the host said. “How can I help you?”

“We’ve got a reservation,” Rumple said. “It should be under Gold.”

Belle was half tempted to ask him to make his next reservation under ‘Rumplestiltskin’ but kept it to herself. The host clicked his tongue as he scanned his list. “Gold… yes, right here! And I see it’s a special occasion.”

“Indeed it is,” her husband said with a smile as the host led them to a table. Belle frowned up at him.

“What occasion?” she whispered.

He kissed the top of her head before pulling out her chair for her. “Our six month anniversary, of course. From when Gideon came back to us.”

“Oh,” Belle said, tilting her head and smiling at him fondly as he sat opposite her. “I have no idea how you remember these things.”

He shrugged. “It’s just a knack for remembering names and dates.”

“You’re too modest, I feel bad I didn’t remember,” she said, thinking back to their incredulous joy and disbelief in the caves that night. It seemed so long ago, almost like a different world. The memory alone almost took her breath away.

He caught her expression, reaching and putting one of his hands over hers. “Let’s just enjoy tonight.”

She nodded, focusing on the menu and getting lost in conversation about Gideon and the town and their upcoming plans for a long weekend away. Belle loved time like this, when she could just talk to her husband and not be afraid of someone interrupting, or worried he was thinking about magic, or risking a villain kidnapping her or something else she had just grown used to in the years before. She actually could not remember the last time she had seen Rumple use magic. “What?” Rumple asked, narrowing his eyes playfully. “You’ve got a funny look on your face. Do you not like your steak?”

“No, no, it’s delicious,” Belle said, looking down at her half-gone entree. “I was just thinking about how nice it is to just _ be _ here. With you. With nobody interrupting, or screaming “curse”, or anything like that.”

“I’m happy, too,” he said, reaching and squeezing her hand. They finished their meals, and their waiter promptly brought out a large slice of cake with “Happy Anniversary!” written in delicate frosting. 

Belle almost wanted to roll her eyes at the display, since it was hardly a real anniversary, but the look on Rumple’s face made her take it back and smile instead. She took a piece of the cake with the fork, much too much for herself, and raised her eyes at him.

“Really, Belle?” he asked, but before he could finish, she’d shoved the fork at his mouth, half landing on his cheek. She cracked up and he joined her as he wiped his face with his napkin.

“We never got to do anything like that at our wedding!” she said, thinking back to their perfect little ceremony.

“We could do it over, if you want,” he offered.

Belle shook her head. “I like our little wedding, just the way it was. Unless you want to do it over?”

“I want whatever Mrs. Gold wants,” he said, reaching into his suit jacket and pulling out a jewelry box. “We can do gifts now?”

Belle nodded silently, taking the box from him and opening it slowly. Her eyes widened as she took in the pretty golden necklace, a thin v-shape with delicately scrawled numbers on a light golden chain. “Rumple,” she breathed, holding it up closer to her face so she could make out the numbers.

“It’s Gideon’s birthday,” he said quietly. “Or rather, the day we got him back. I thought we’d celebrate his birthday then, since everything on his technical birthday…”

Belle nodded, “I agree completely, and this is beautiful. Honestly. I love it.”

“I’m glad. I thought you would like it,” he said, a pleased look on his face.

She took a deep breath, reaching for her bag. “You might think it’s silly, but I thought I needed a thing that was more than a thing, so maybe…”

“Belle,” he said, looking up at her before removing the tissue paper. “Stop doubting yourself. It’s going to be wonderful, because it’s from you.”

Biting her lip, she watched as Rumple got to the box. “A camera!” he said. 

“It prints the photos almost instantly, you’ve just have to shake it,” Belle explained, and Rumple nodded, looking over the features listed on the box.

“I’ve seen one before,” he said. “I don’t know why I didn’t think to buy a regular one when Gideon was born. Too busy with him, I guess. I can take proper photos and hang them up now, I’ll never forget anything.”

Belle frowned a bit. “What do you mean?”

He paused for a moment, trying to gather his thoughts. “Baelfire was a child three hundred years ago. I can hardly remember what he looked like at times. This way, I’ll always have photographs to remember every year of Gideon’s life. And yours.”

“Oh, Rumple,” Belle said, her face melting from a nervous smile to one of hope mixed with sadness. Sometimes she forgot just how long he had been alive. She leaned forward to kiss him over the table.

“I can’t wait to put this together and take a photo of you tonight,” Rumple said, putting the camera back in the bag, and Belle laughed.

“I wish I had a photo of you with cake all over your face,” she said, and he laughed as he signed the check the waiter had slipped them.

“Maybe some other time,” he said.

“I’ll make sure of it,” she said, slipping her hand in his as they exited the restaurant. And for the first time in so long, their promises to each other were genuine. Nothing was looming over them or threatening to tear them apart, and something in her said it could be like this for forever. They were just a regular couple and their son figuring out the world together. And now they had a Polaroid camera to record them every step of the way.

  
  



End file.
